Jeremy corbyn

MPs have voted to renew Trident by an overwhelming margin: 472 voted for, compared to 172 against. It's no great surprise that the decision to approve the replacement of Britain's four nuclear submarines passed. Perhaps what was more interesting was the split on the Labour benches opposite the Government, with 140 of the party's MPs going against Jeremy Corbyn and backing Trident. So, how did your local MP vote in the Trident debate?

If you wanted evidence to support the repeated assertion from Labour MPs that Jeremy Corbyn cannot continue as Labour leader, today’s Trident debate offered it in cartloads. The vote, which had been promised in 2007 by a Labour defence secretary, is supposed to be about the renewal of the submarines that carry the nuclear warheads. But today’s debate was more about the deep split within the Labour party over the matter, and the contempt with which so many Labour backbenchers view their leadership. In most parliamentary debates led by the leaders of the two main parties, what normally happens is that backbenchers intervene on their respective leaders to offer supportive statements that, as much as anything else, allow them to catch their breath and refine their argument.

With Labour in turmoil, Owen Smith and Angela Eagle have both spent their Sunday explaining why they should be the one to challenge Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership.  So with a leadership contest looming, how has Corbyn spent the weekend? Catching Pokémon, it turns out. In a short film for the BBC, the beleaguered Labour leader can be seen trying out Pokémon Go, the new phone app currently taking over the world. Unfortunately Corbyn hits an initial bump in the road after Seumas Milne -- his director of strategy and communications --  stands in the way of Corbyn's phone. Happily, they overcome this and his efforts are soon rewarded when Corbyn manages to catch the character Krabby; 'our work this morning has not been in vain'. Vive la Revolution!

This week, Mr S made his way to Boisdale to watch his Spectator comrade Rod Liddle give the key address at the fifth annual Freedom Dinner. Hosted by Forest, Liddle stayed on-message at the libertarian bash -- speaking freely on a range of topics from his Labour suspension to the Guardian's Comment is Free section. Here is the speech in full: Many thanks for inviting me here tonight. I have been told that I was picked to deliver this address from among a very large list of people, solely because I have children and am a mother. This gives me great empathy and understanding and also the right to amend my CV whenever the feeling takes me. That was a star which rose and fell rather speedily, wasn’t it? Before we even learned how to pronounce her name.

One of our main political parties is at an immense disadvantage. Labour is tied to a form of idealism. Socialism is a strong form of idealism. It can only gain and hold power by diluting this idealism, mixing it with realism. This is psychologically difficult, existentially unstable. When it finds a way of gaining power, it is not calmly at ease with itself, but divided. And this intensifies after a period of power: purists seek revenge on those behind the ‘successful’ compromise. Blair’s Iraq war adventure is incidental to why he is so hated by the left. He is really hated for winning all those elections. How has such a party survived thus far? How can the moderates bear to rub shoulders with the purists who so hate them?

Nice send off for Cameron at PMQs. Both leaders acquitted themselves well. Cameron was wry, witty and self-deprecating. He claimed to have ‘addressed’ a total of 5500 questions during his premiership. ‘How many I’ve answered I’ll leave to others.’ Corbs got it spot on too and showed us a relaxed, funny, generous side. He asked Cameron to thank his mum for her tip that he should smarten up and wear a suit. ‘He’s taken the advice. He’s looking absolutely splendid,’ beamed Cameron. It was only a throwaway remark but it produced a Richter-scale eruption of mirth.